A la guerra ya me llevan

Annotation

The tejano song "A la guerra ya me llevan" ("They're Taking Me to the War") (Buena Suerte Records # 929), narrated from the soldier's perspective, expressed opposition to being drafted to go to the war, leaning towards the anti-war side: "they're taking me against my will". Little Joe performed the song, a Mexican-American, born in Temple, Texas (17 October 1940), as José María De León Hernández. This political song helped established him as a major artist in the 1960s Chicano movement. He founded the record label Buena Suerte Records in 1968, based in Temple, TX.123 The narration saw the soldier expressing sympathy towards his mother, father, and girlfriend, telling them that "if in combat I find death, I wouldn't want you to cry". The narrator also said that as he headed off to war, taken away from his family, he regretted fighting with his father. Note that Little Joe also released the Vietnam-related corrido El prisionero de Vietnam, with the group Little Joe & The Starlites, discussed below.Sources1Tejano Proud: Tex-Mex Music in the Twentieth Century (Guadalupe San Miguel, 2002)↩2Wikipedia: Little Joe (singer)↩3Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas Mexican Literature (Dagoberto Gilb, 2008)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: They are taking me to war now / Sweet mother, they grabbed me in yesterday's draft / There you stay, very lonely without your son / God knows if we'll see each other again / Give this addressed envelope / To my girlfriend, who does not know where I am / And tell her that they are taking me as a soldier / And that I am going to other lands far away / Don't cry, sweet mother, for my luck / For I'm a man and my destiny was to fight / And if in combat I should find death / I wouldn't want you to cry / On my chest I always carry the medallion / That my mother gave me with so much faith / And if the shrapnel doesn't reach me / To your arms, sweet mother, I'll return / Here I leave my poor dear parents / Who have struggled since I was a boy / When they see the airplanes flying / That are taking me straight to Vietnam __________ Spanish: A la guerra ya me llevan / Madrecita me aggararon en la revelia de ayer / Hay te quedas sin tu hijito muy solita / Sabra dios si nos volveremos a ver / Hay le entregas este sobre retornado / A mi novia que no sabe en donde estoy / Y le dices que me llevan de soldado / Y a ostras tierras muy lejanos yo me voy / Ya no lloras madrecita por mi suerte / Que soy hombre y mi destino fue pelear / Y si acaso en el combate hallo la muerte / Yo no quisiera que tu vayas a llorar / En me pecho siempre llevo la medalla / Que mi madre me la dio con tanta fe / Y si acaso no me alcanza la metralla / A tus brazos madrecita volvere / Aqui dejo a mis podres…

Notes

Buena Suerte Records 929, 45 RPM, LH-4865, P.O. Box 3725, Temple, Texas 76501; "A la guerra ya me llevan" (D.A.R.), canción ranchera, time 2:40; Little Joe and the Latinaires, "Cantan: Little Joe & Johnny Hernandez". [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Born 17 October 1940, Temple, Texas, USA

Themes

Soldier's Perspective · Anti-War

In collections

Draft Songs · Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]